Mission Partners International

Can My Children go to School Today?

MPI Admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:55:48 +0000

Almost 420,000 school kids in Ukraine stayed home today due to extremely cold weather – 3200 schools were closed. Abnormally cold temperatures outside aren’t the only problem for Ukrainian schools. Many schools have very old heating systems. For instance, the schools in the Desnyanskiy district in Kiev are only about +14C inside. The teachers and students must wear coats in class to keep warm. So, “Can my Children go to School today?” The parents of School children in Ukraine are asking this question every day. Very cold winter temperatures of – 26 to – 33C has led to officials closing schools at least three times this month. What may look like fun for kids (staying home), often leaves parents with a dilemma – choose between my job and my child’s well being.

Given current circumstances, students are staying home, while their parents go to work. That is the reality in Ukraine today. In a country like Canada it is normal to hire babysitters to watch the kids while their parents are at work, but most Ukrainians can’t afford that luxury. They can only hope that their children will be safe on their own, and can look after themselves. Most of the time, the older children are given the responsibility to look after their younger siblings, but this can still lead to various mishaps. Children that are left alone, without adult supervision, can sometimes make poor choices that lead to accidents.

Going to school provides both an education and meals. Poor families can rely on at least one good meal a day for their kids (provided in school at lunch time). Staying home takes that provision away and leaves kids hungry. The educational process is also set back. Kids miss classes and fall behind in their education. In order to catch up with the program, teachers concentrate only on main subjects like Language and Math and neglect others. Elementary school children miss a lot of important foundational knowledge that they will need in the future. For graduate students every day in school is crucial. They worry about preparing properly for exams as they have to study at home without the guidance and insight of their teachers. Hopefully, this situation will soon change for the better.

As Christians living in Ukraine, we know that we can trust God with our children’s lives and hope He will take care of them. We simply have no other choice. Please pray with us for the children of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia who suffer from the cold. We need your prayer support at this time to keep our children safe and well. God bless you all.

Andrei Shander

Extreme Winter Weather in Ukraine

MPI Admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:08:22 +0000

This winter is proving to be one of the roughest in the last 50 years. We started out with very mild weather, but after January 13th a deluge of extreme winter weather has battered the country. We have seen abnormal amounts of snow and a deep, piercing cold. During a three day period, we got a month’s worth of snow. There are three groups of people who suffer the most during extreme cold temperatures – homeless, seniors, and children. Due to abnormal temperatures of -21 to -26 Celsius, schools in Kiev, Ukraine has been closed twice in the last two weeks. There are a few emergency shelters set up for homeless people in 10 different areas of Kiev. These shelters offer hot drinks, warm clothes and a bed to stay overnight. Still, it is not enough and many homeless people are getting frostbite and ending up in the hospital with severe trauma. In the last two weeks 130 people have died of exposure to the cold in Ukraine, according to official statistics. There are less people and cars on the streets. On weekends, hardly anybody goes outside. More than 70 villages have hydro lines down due to snow storms.
I personally made a trip to Western Ukraine last week. I traveled by train as it was the only safe means of transportation. While on the overnight train, and much to my surprise, the temperature inside the train was only 13C. The conductor lady said that they could only get one bucket of coal for the entire trip. She advised me to help myself to a blanket. I slept with my clothes and my coat on, wrapped up in that blanket. The compartment I was in was very cold and drafty. When I checked the window I found the source of the draft. All the windows on the train were locked, but the wind was still coming through. I guess old windows don’t stay shut properly. I was on the top bunk. When I looked down I noticed snow built up on the bottom bunk (on top of the blanket of my traveling companion). The snow was blowing in from outside through the gap in the window. I was able to snap a photo of the window and the snow that was coming in (during the middle of the night, in the dark). In all my travels I have never felt so cold or seen anything like it. I was glad to get home after that trip.
We are so blessed to live in warm homes and enjoy a hot cup of coffee on the way to work. Often we don’t realize what a ‘hot cup’ of tea or coffee means to others. It could be their lifeline. To one person it is a habit and to another it is all he can hope for in order to survive. A ‘hot cup’ can save a life, just as prayer can save a soul. Find someone who you can share a hot cup of coffee with and remember to say a prayer. You might just be surprised at what God will do.
The situation in Kiev will continue to remain freezing cold for the next few weeks. Today we were informed by our chrildren’s school principle that starting tomorrow, schools will be closed again due to cold. Please pray for us and for the people in Ukraine. We don’t want anyone else to freeze. We need many more ‘hot cups’ shared, with the love of God. Along with this letter I have included some photos for you to see. Please remember and pray for us.
Andrei Shander

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My Trip to two Orphanages

MPI Admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:46:27 +0000

My dear friends and readers I would like to share with you my personal experience after going last week to two orphanages in Kiev, Ukraine. Somebody said – Helping one person a day makes life worth living. That day we witnessed how over 100 orphans received the joy and miracle of Christmas, and we were honoured to be the hands and feet of Jesus sharing love, sweets, and hugs with ones abandoned but not forgotten (Jer 1:5).

Let me begin with how it all started. There is a Children’s Art Centre called “Happy Childhood” at our church in Kiev. It is a new ministry that started about six month ago. It is a place where children from poor families in the area and from different churches can learn music, art, crafts, drama, English, and get help with their homework. The leader of the CAC, Christina, had practiced a Christmas play with six children and prayed for an opportunity to share the message of Christmas, hope, and joy with other, less fortunate children. Back in December, MPI provided a Christmas tree for the Deaf Orphanage (#18) in Kiev. There are 220 children there – most are deaf and some have partial hearing loss. The director was very grateful for the tree and invited us back. Christina and the children got very excited about the opportunity to perform the play for orphans. With help from our Canadian partners and friends at MPI we bought 330 candy boxes for two orphanages. We wanted to bring candies for the orphans because they don’t get treats like that. These gifts also help us to establish a stronger relationship with the orphanage staff. They can see that we care about their children and are trustworthy friends.

On the day of the trip, all the children came with their costumes and props to the church and we left from there with Ivan Shvets, the church administrator. He drove us and helped us to unload the candy boxes.

The Hall was on the third floor and it was packed. The children were seated with their caretakers and waited patiently. The director introduced us and Christina gave the orphans a Christmas greeting and explained them about the program. We had a deaf interpreter for the whole time. It was amazing to see how the deaf children followed the play. Most of them leaned forward as if they were trying to get a little bit closer to the platform. They had never seen a Christmas play before. I didn’t know how much they knew about Jesus, but by watching them I could see that they were interested and enjoying it. At the end of the play there was a prayer. I saw how the children prayed that prayer, and their eyes were shining. After the play we sang three songs and gave candy boxes to each child. There were children from 7 -16 years old, and they all came forward at the end for a group photo. They were very friendly and kind. They thanked us for the play, though they couldn’t talk. We felt like one big family. One of our girls, Dasha (10 yrs) who played a queen was moved and touched by the friendliness of the deaf children. She had never met a deaf child before, and couldn’t understand why they couldn’t talk. They just looked like average kids. That day we were all reminded once again how blessed we are to know God, and how we need be grateful and willing to share with others the greatest gift of all – Jesus! It was an honor for us to go there and make new friends. We couldn’t have made it without you. Thank you. I think that day many children‘s lives were changed because they prayed and asked Jesus to come into their life. I prayed that same prayer myself on Feb 4th 1990 and my life was changed ever since.

Come along and join us in winning young souls for Christ in orphanages in Kiev, Ukraine. Become our prayer partner and join the big family at Mission Partners International.

Andrei Shander

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